Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole

This Chili Cheese Tater Tot Casserole recipe is what dreams are made of! Your whole family will devour this easy, cozy casserole made with a hearty homemade chili and crispy tots!

Chili cheese fries meet weeknight casserole in this ridiculously easy dinner.

We host Halloween for our family every year and I always make the same pot of chili – and I’m always asked for the recipe.

Which, let’s be honest, is super embarrassing because my super famous totally secret chili recipe is 1 pound ground beef + 30 ounces tomatoes sauce + 1 packet chili seasoning. Sometimes I throw in a can of beans, if I’m feeling spicy.

That’s it. That’s how I make chili for a crowd (doubling or tripling the recipe as needed). People love it.

So, I went for this chili cheese tater tot casserole with that in mind, but I did add a few veggies, diced tomatoes, and beans because it just felt right.

This one is basically chili cheese fries that you can consider dinner and I really love that for us.

(Also, I feel compelled to tell you that my Instant Pot Turkey Chili is *my* personal favorite chili recipe, but when I’m feeding a crowd of picky eaters – hello, my husband’s family – the packet is where I go. Every time.)

♥ What We Love About This Recipe:

1. Like chili cheese fries for dinner – All the best flavors in one easy casserole. Kids are going to love it.
2. Ready in 45 minutes – Brown the meat, add the toppings, bake, and done.
3. Simple, but feels like you tried – It’s just chili with some tots thrown on top. It looks like you put in effort, but gosh, it’s simple.

Ingredient Notes:

Ground Beef – We use lean ground beef but you could use a fattier blend, just make sure to drain all the grease. This will work well with ground turkey as wel.

Onion & Pepper – In my family, these are optional depending on who’s having dinner with us. We have a lot of picky eaters. 😉

Chili Seasoning – The filling in this casserole gets spiced up with a packet of chili seasoning. Keeps it easy.

Tomato – We’re adding canned diced tomatoes and canned tomato sauce to the casserole to make the chili. The tomato sauce makes this rich and hearty.

Chili Beans – Hot or mild will be fine here and, again, you can skip these if you have picky eaters.

Sour Cream – I always always always add a scoop of sour cream to my bowl of chili and I couldn’t skip that step here. It just gets stirred right in and gives the chili some extra yumminess.

Cheddar – If you can grate your own cheddar that’s going to melt the best and taste the best but pre-shredded cheese works fine too. You can use other varieties of cheese if you like. Mild or sharp cheddar is okay to use.

Tater Tots – Start with frozen tater tots! No need to thaw them first, just add them right to the casserole. They make a nice crispy topping for the chili cheese filling!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Step by Step Instructions for Tater Tot Casserole:

Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat along with the diced pepper and onion.

Drain the grease and stir in the chili seasoning, tomatoes and sauce, and beans if you’re adding them. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the sour cream and remove the pan from the heat.

Carefully pour the mixture into a 9×13 baking dish and top with the cheddar cheese.

Arrange the frozen tater tots in an even layer over the chili. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tots are as crisp as you’d like!

Recipe FAQs:

• Hashbrown Casserole
• Broccoli & Rice Casserole
• Sloppy Joe Casserole
• Air Fryer Green Bean Casserole
• Chicken Potato Casserole
• Dorito Chicken Casserole
• Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This recipe was originally published in 2016. It was updated with new photos in 2025. Original photo below.